Don't ask Bush to stimulate the economy

DriftingByTheStorm wrote:

You mean, like the Beach Boys song?

omfg...first on the fact he actually said it (and started to sing it), second on how big (and long) of a deal he made out of blowing his nose and attending to wiping his face... I hope thinks faster than it takes to blow his nose...

Some Laura Ingraham schooling...

The last few sentences...haha golden...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTINiPcxeto

jlew24asu wrote:

learn something today. just try.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/18/news/economy/bush_stimulus/index.htm?postversion=2008011806

I don't see anything in that article.

If a tax cut is the best thing the government can come up with we are hosed.

Unfortunately, that IS the best they can do.
There is no faster working medicine ...

the problem is, it may be a quick pill ... but you cant fix a hemmorage with an aspirin.
:(


I also like how Bernanke explicitly acknowledged that the "real" government debt "dwarfed" the "stated 9 trillion dollar" debt ... and went further to implicitly hint that correcting that is an impossibility at this point.

So,
where is the magic bullet for this one?

I can tell you, having brushed up on inflationary bubbels and the Fed\Market relationship in recent months, that the reality is there is no cure for this.

In fact, cutting rates at this point is only going to deepen the hole we are in.

There is a reason the Fed raised rates consistently throughout the great depression ...

Greenspan can blame them all he wants for that and say that it was "unwise" and caused the depression ... but the reality is his statements are only half true.

Yes, inflationary policy is the cause of busts, but it is the loose-credit and low rate portion of the cycle that is the cause.

When the depression hit, and the Fed jacked the rates up ... that was an attempt to shore up inflation, and bring value back to the dollar.

Unfortunately that comes at the expense of the market, but that's what happens when you play the inflation game.

You may win for a while, but rest assured you WILL lose.

We are currently losing big time.

jlew24asu wrote:

sorry try this link

http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/17/news/economy/fed_bernanke/index.htm

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers told lawmakers on Tuesday that Congress should consider a stimulus package of up to $150 billion. He proposed an immediate injection of $50 billion to $75 billion through a combination of tax cuts and increased spending on unemployment benefits and other programs. He also advocated that another $50 billion to $75 billion be set aside in case economic conditions weaken further.


its not much but something. more details will be released today

How will giving tax payers $800 a piece
or helping the laid off buy milk and break
do anything to reverse the totality of the equities markets and STIMULATE the economy?

Giving money to unemployed people is great, but it doesn't stimulate dick.

Similarly, people will either put the $800 in a bank account, or take it to the store and buy groceries.

A nice gesture, but wtf is it gonna do for us?

I like the $75 billion being held in case things "worsen".
:rolleyes:
That tells me, "Well we have some money to throw at it, but we don't know what 'IT' is, and we don't know what kind of pitch to even wind up."

:(

jlew24asu wrote:

what more important, helping people during a recession or having the government fix a recession?

you want less government intervention in the market right?

recessions fix themselves.

Well.
I can't really disagree with you on that.